Sioux City School District personnel on Monday said attendance has dipped over the first week of the new Donald Trump presidency, perhaps because of fears of mass deportations of undocumented people.
Superintendent Rod Earleywine said attendance “is down a little bit.” A West High School teacher who is also a Sioux City Councilman gave some specifics, saying at least five students stopped coming to his classes.
That teacher was Matthew O’Kane, who began by citing the presidential change “and the toll that it takes on our student body.”
“I have students that have not been back in school since Donald Trump was sworn into office, I have students that I talk to every day who are crying. I have students that I don’t think I will ever see again,” O’Kane said.
“This is something that doesn’t affect just our school district, it affects our city.”
Earleywine said he will monitor attendance and let the school board know of any future implications and possible actions. O’Kane said if a large number of Sioux City people whose citizenship is in question were to be taken away, the loss of taxpaying people would deliver a damaging blow to the budgets of the city and school district.
*As deportations take center stage nationally, the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
On Tuesday morning, Noem shared a video on social media as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officials were reportedly carrying out raids in New York City. In the video, Noem is shown weaning bullet proof gear, and says, “We are here to get the dirtbags off the street.”
According to Nebraska Public Media, since Trump’s inauguration, it’s estimated that ICE has arrested more than 2,000 people, with 956 of those occurring on Sunday.
That outpaces the average daily apprehension rate under the previous Joe Biden administration in fiscal year 2024, which stood at roughly 310 daily arrests.
Also concerning potential numerous deportations, Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon said immigration enforcement needs to take a “balanced” approach to protect those who are contributing positively to the state.
Bacon added he also supports expanding legal immigration and opening pathways for immigrants to earn U.S. citizenship or a legal status, including those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Bacon added that many Americans want undocumented people removed from the nation, and that he “would focus on the criminal element first and foremost.
*Additionally, the Sioux City School Board is moving deeper into the process of hiring a new school district superintendent, as interviews with seven candidates will take place on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
The school board has posted agendas for each of the seven special board meetings, which will be closed to the public. Iowa law allows school boards to interview job candidates in closed session, if the person applying for the job requests that method.
The meetings are spaced about two hours apart, with four happening on Wednesday and three on Thursday at the downtown administrative office.
Twenty-three people applied to be considered for the Sioux City School District superintendent position. The consulting firm GR Recruiting conducted screenings of the applicants, and on Monday recommended 10 to interview, and the board members pinpointed seven to interview.
Current Superintendent Rod Earleywine will retire on June 30.
Other details about the superintendent search are publicly shared on the website of the Sioux City School District, which educates 14,500 students.
*In other education news, a bill advancing in the Iowa House would loosen restrictions on homeschooling.
Under one form of homeschooling, called independent private instruction, teachers are capped at having no more than four unrelated students. The House bill would do away with that limit and allow providers to charge tuition.
Lauren Gideon is a homeschool mom of seven and supports the bill. She also represents Classical Conversations, a Christian homeschooling program.
“ I think this opens up a great option for parents to say, ‘Hey, I have a second grader. I have a third grader. What if I brought in a couple more?’ I keep teaching the same content, but I'm able to receive compensation for my services, and also have revenue streams that allow me to operate out of my convictions in my home,” Gideon said.
The bill would also take out requirements to teach social studies and science to students before sixth grade.
